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>There is like a bajillion people out there running Oracle Java, MySql, Virtualbox and so on. All of them Oracle products, and with permissive licenses. Where i

>There is like a bajillion people out there running Oracle Java, MySql, Virtualbox and so on. All of them Oracle products, and with permissive licenses. Where is this "existential treat" thing coming from? Oracle. (see, I can be sarcastic too) Ignoring the fact that most of those users were likely acquired back when those products were still known as Sun Java, Sun MySql, and Sun Virtualbox, those "bajillion" people are not lucrative enough to warrant the effort. The moment one of those people becomes large enough, Oracle's lawyers will come knocking. If you're large enough, they will even go as far as to change how copyright law itself is interpreted to get their fill. With a company like that, entering any form of contract or agreement is a major liability and an existential threat.

Kiro 8y ago
Your points are valid but you're exaggerating.
carterehsmith 8y ago
"The moment one of those people becomes large enough, Oracle's lawyers will come knocking." Can we see an example of big Java user being called by Oracle's lawyers? Excluding Google, they created their own Java with no regards to license, so yeah they got sued. So... did anyone that just downloaded Java and used it, got sued? I do not see it. Nor do I see what they could possibly be sued for.
- profalseidol 8y ago
  How about this? https://www.techrepublic.com/article/why-its-finally-time-to-give-up-on-the-name-javascript/ https://www.techrepublic.com/article/why-its-finally-time-to...
- jake_the_third 8y ago
  > Google, they created their own Java with no regards to license, so yeah they got sued. You don't need a license to build a clone.. well, you didn't need one until recently thanks to Oracle. While not exactly the same thing, I'm still glad that IBM didn't pursue IBM-compatibles using oracle's absurd logic (or ford and other car manufactures for that matter). I like competition. > did anyone that just downloaded Java and used it, got sued? Perhaps not sued, just threatened into paying. See sibling posts for your anecdotes.

Kiro 8y ago

Your points are valid but you're exaggerating.

carterehsmith 8y ago

"The moment one of those people becomes large enough, Oracle's lawyers will come knocking." Can we see an example of big Java user being called by Oracle's lawyers? Excluding Google, they created their own Java with no regards to license, so yeah they got sued. So... did anyone that just downloaded Java and used it, got sued? I do not see it. Nor do I see what they could possibly be sued for.

profalseidol 8y ago
How about this? https://www.techrepublic.com/article/why-its-finally-time-to-give-up-on-the-name-javascript/ https://www.techrepublic.com/article/why-its-finally-time-to...
jake_the_third 8y ago
> Google, they created their own Java with no regards to license, so yeah they got sued. You don't need a license to build a clone.. well, you didn't need one until recently thanks to Oracle. While not exactly the same thing, I'm still glad that IBM didn't pursue IBM-compatibles using oracle's absurd logic (or ford and other car manufactures for that matter). I like competition. > did anyone that just downloaded Java and used it, got sued? Perhaps not sued, just threatened into paying. See sibling posts for your anecdotes.